Dennis Erickson had a lot of cars. (Photo: KARE/Screenshot)

Dennis Erickson was known to love cars, but it wasn’t until he died and left his house and its contents to the church that his community realized just how many he had.

Inside the house, “literally, it’s floor to ceiling, every single room,” Lisa Lundstrom, the church’s chief financial officer told KARE, the Minneapolis news station.

In the kitchen, in the hallways, in the bathroom, Erickson stored his collection of model cars, which Lundstrom has found is one of the largest of its kind in the world. When the church had accounted for them all, they numbered more than 30,000.

The collection includes tiny cars that could nestle in the palm of your hand and full-sized vintage cars that can be taken out for a spin. Erickson had full-sized Model T Ford, ‘59 Edsel, ‘66 Rambler and a ‘77 Bonneville. He started collecting cars as a 9-year-old kids; his collection also includes thousands of aged brochures for classic cars.

The church is planning on selling the collection: Lundstrom estimates it’s worth a substantial six figures, at least.

Bonus finds: A 1946 letter from Ronald Reagan about communists

Every day, we highlight one newly found object, curiosity or wonder. Discover something amazing? Tell us about it! Send your finds to sarah.laskow@atlasobscura.com.